Pelican case foam - what adhesive?

[Strizzo]

I have a pelican 1550 that was purchased to transport some rock samples. i have already plucked and cut the foam to hold all of the samples, but am not sure what adhesive i should use to glue the bottom pieces back in to the foam layers.

i'm sure someone has done this before, what is the best adhesive to use on the foam? thanks in advance.

 

[howell_jd]

I used regular Elmer's white glue (you know the kind for kids). It was all that was available in the sandbox (ha ha). Imagine that - we can move 38,000 lb trucks, 70 ton tanks, 100s of thousands of personnel, etc. but the only glue I could get in Iraq was Elmer's school glue! Turns out that it worked fine. My pelican cases held up well, the materials inside were unaffected by sand and vibration and the occasion thump! I'm sure there is something better but I have had no problems.

 

[Dave Bennett]

3M spray adhesive

 

[Strizzo]

i have some spray headliner adhesive, but have been hesitant due to the potential mess that it could make. i was hoping that there would be something brush on like rubber cement, but i'm not sure if it would react with the foam. I'd like this to look as professional as possible, since it will be used for work.

 

[teotwaki]

I used regular Elmer's white glue (you know the kind for kids). It was all that was available in the sandbox (ha ha). Imagine that - we can move 38,000 lb trucks, 70 ton tanks, 100s of thousands of personnel, etc. but the only glue I could get in Iraq was Elmer's school glue! Turns out that it worked fine. My pelican cases held up well, the materials inside were unaffected by sand and vibration and the occasion thump! I'm sure there is something better but I have had no problems.

Love the avatar!

 

[Bighead]

3M spray adhesive

That's what I use.

 

[Strizzo]

i imagine elmers would work fine in an arid environment, but it tends to get pretty humid in houston, and i've had elmers come apart when it has gotten wet before.

 

[DesertBoater]

I haven't found a need to hold the foam down in any of my cases...it's also something to consider that you might be using those pelican cases for something else down the road and you might need to pluck out different shapes. pelican does sell the foam independently from the boxes. I also tend to keep things (lens cloth, important cards/documents, stickers, an extra $40 just in case, etc) behind/under the foam pads, and that's where I put my name/contact info if it were to get lost.

Cheers,
West

 

[Strizzo]

sorry, to clarify, i'm not gluing the foam into the case. i have plucked and then cut to depth the pieces of foam to leave a space for the rock samples. there are two layers of foam in the 1550, so the top layer will be lifted out, possibly with the rocks still sitting on them, so the hole "bottoms" need to be glued back in so they don't simply fall out from the weight of the rocks.
here is a picture of what one of the layers will look like

http://www.aww-kittah-aww.com/up/files/402/IMG_6123.jpg

 

[winkosmosis]

I just glued together a new zipper panel (vinyl) and soft plastic window for my Miata. The glue I used was a fabric/vinyl/plastic glue made by Loctite. It's very strong, flexible, and I think it should work on foam too. Since it's made for plastic I would think it wouldn't damage the foam.

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?acti...ic and Plastic Clear Flexible Repair Adhesive

 

[Strizzo]

I just glued together a new zipper panel (vinyl) and soft plastic window for my Miata. The glue I used was a fabric/vinyl/plastic glue made by Loctite. It's very strong, flexible, and I think it should work on foam too. Since it's made for plastic I would think it wouldn't damage the foam.

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?acti...ic and Plastic Clear Flexible Repair Adhesive

yeah, i have some of the loctite headliner adhesive, but i wasn't sure how it would react with the foam, so i picked up some 3M super 77 that was recomended, and tried it out last night. aside from nearly glueing all of the hairs on my arm down, it did a pretty good job. i think it got a little too cold in the garage last night because it was still a little tacky this morning, so i put it in the house today so hopefully it'll finish drying. i'm planning on doing the second layer tonight, and hopefully i'll have some pics in the next few days.

 

[GTABurnout]

I have used Super glue with good results.

 

[Scotsmanspride]

Don't use regular 3m spray. There is a 3M Foamfast spray that works the best. Used this doing upholstery in the past. It gets tacky and stays towards the surface where the regular spray tends to soak in and not work as well....also soaks through fabric.

 

[monele]

I work with both polystyrene and polyurethane foams a lot. Here are my sources:

Polyurethane
http://www.clearcoproducts.com

I also get ES2000 spray adhesive from my local Upholstery supply house (can't find a website for the manufacturer though) It is super cheap and incredibly strong. It is not a high-temp adhesive though.

If anyone needs adhesive for polystyrene use foamloc:
http://www.demandproducts.com/adhesive.php

And just in case you need a custom fit foam:
http://www.uscomposites.com